Maja Stabel, a talented Norwegian fashion designer and illustrator, designs beautiful garments from the simple, all rectangular shapes of her zero waste patterns. Previously designing for her own label Stabel, she now offers charmingly hand-drawn zero waste patterns (for free!) and holds workshops for home-sewers.

If you’re familiar with sewing, the odd assortment of scraps remaining after cutting out your pieces will be familiar too: long strips, curves and wedges of fabric which only the most passionate patchworker could re-use. About 15% of fabric in the fashion industry is cut away at the production stage and thrown out as waste.

Intrigued by the concept of zero waste in fashion, I reached out to Maja and have since also had the pleasure of joining in on one of her workshops (where I made this). Her passion for combining creativity and sustainability in clothes making is inspiring. And today I am delighted to share an interview with her here!

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I get the impression you were drawn to zero waste thinking as a sustainable approach to fashion design but also as a creative challenge of pattern construction. Could you say a little about what zero waste design is and your fascination for it?

Zero waste design within the fashion industry is about pattern construction – about designing waste out of the production of clothes.

I love that zero waste design challenges you to find new solutions and that you have to be creative with what you’ve got. When you distance yourself from the conventional way of constructing patterns, zero waste design can be a tool for innovation.

It’s hard to make the math to fit and the proportions right and at the same time make sensible use of the whole fabric piece and not waste anything, but this is what I think is fun and exciting; which makes zero waste a more creative design process for me – I’m forced to find new solutions.

You have previously designed beautiful zero waste garments under your own label Stabel. Now you’re offering zero waste patterns for people to sew themselves. What was your motivation for bringing zero waste fashion design to the home sewing market?

I really wanted to have a sustainable business model that was different from the conventional one where you produce new collections all the time that encourage consumerism and contribute to a growing waste problem. I wanted to cut the production phase – at least the one where I produce a bunch of clothes in India or China and would be forced to sell a huge quantity of clothes to make it go around. Probably I would have to sell a lot on sale as well because it’s impossible to estimate how much you are going to sell.

Then I thought that the way I make my zero waste patterns are very easy to learn and understand, so why not make people produce their own clothes? Last year I studied pedagogics and discovered how much I enjoyed teaching. I ran a zero waste assignment in a class and it was so much fun so that’s when I figured I could run my own zero waste workshops as well.

And now I just had my first workshop! (that I'm very happy you wanted to attend). I was so excited about how it would be and how it would be received; if people would like it and benefit from it. I thought about it for such a long time so I’m happy I just did it when the opportunity arose because it really turned out to be such a fun and inspiring day! Everyone was really positive and I think eager to learn and to sew something on their own which made it an easygoing and nice event. I had so much fun teaching and seeing people turn my design into their own by adding small details and finding new solutions.

Sewing things myself, I’ve often found it challenging to find sustainably sourced fabrics and notions. Do you have any tips on where to go or what to look for?

No, this is something I find very frustrating – it’s very hard to find sustainable fabrics. I recently found tencel fabric at a danish website and was super excited, but then it gets very expensive because of taxes and customs which is really annoying. Stoff og stil [a Northern-European fabric chain store] has actually started to stock some organic fabrics.

Are you also thinking of selling your own DIY-kits with fabric and notions to go with your patterns?

Yes! I'm in the process of creating DIY kits with zero waste patterns and Norwegian wool made at Krivi veveri [one of the few remaining Norwegian weaving mills].

I want it to be a 100% Norwegian product – that will be locally made by my customers. I hope this can inspire people to make their own clothes again.

Do you generally sense a positive change underway in the fashion industry with fresh approaches to sustainable fashion?

Yes, I feel that there’s something positive happening in the fashion industry – more and more people open their eyes and find better and more sustainable ways to make clothes. I think, and hope, that the brands who don't focus on sustainability won't survive. I think it’s especially inspiring that big brands like Levis and Stella McCartney take a stand and make an effort to be (more) sustainable.

But we have a long way to go and I think we, as consumers, are the ones who hold the power to really change it. We need to demand better and more sustainable clothes and we can do this by choosing the sustainable companies – we have to be aware of where we put our consumer vote. Alternatively you can buy secondhand or, of course, make your own clothes ;-)

As consumers it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the problems in the fashion industry and not know where to start or whether we can even make a difference. What would you say to that? Do you have any advice on where to start?

I guess I've already answered that, but to make it clear: the consumer can make all the difference!! And it is our responsibility to use our power and be conscious of how we shop. Start by choosing sustainable when it’s possible and if not, at least buy clothes with good quality that last, and always ask yourself if you will wear it a minimum of 30 times.